Ranma 1/2 Hard Battle

Ranma 1/2 is a popular Japanese cartoon that effectively mixes risqué humor and action. What's left when DTMC is done translating it to a game is an average fighting game that will make fans of the cartoon leap for joy, but will let seasoned fighters down a little bit.

My What Big Fists You Have

The story is an interesting one. Ranma and his father are training near the Accursed Springs when they both fall into different wells. Ranma falls into a well where a young girl died 1500 years before. Now whenever Ranma gets wet with cold water, he changes into a female warrior. His father, on the other hand, gets transformed into a giant panda. Ranma's high school principal agrees to let him off from final exams if he can defeat eight other fighters. What's a boy/girl to do?

You can play as Ranma, Ranma-Chan (the female Ranma), or 10 other players against the computer or a friend. You can also fight in a Team Challenge mode, where you pick a team of fighters to battle another team. Each player has basic punch, jump, and kick moves, along with a set of unique special moves, like Ranma's Sweet Chestnut Fist, Ryoga's Lion Roar Bullet, and Shampoo's Lantern Punch. The moves are pretty, but not easy to pull off.

ProTips:

Shampoo has a combo that works like a charm. Jump in and push Down and B (you must be very, very deep), then throw a Light Punch and go directly into her Super Kick (hit both attack buttons at the same time).

Akane's combo is the same as Shampoo's. Jump in and push Down and B, then Light Punch and go directly into a Super Kick.

The She-Male Shines

The graphics in Ranma are very nice, from the detailed and funny antics of the fighters, to the richly colored background scenery. You play in 12 beautifully drawn backgrounds, like the giant Pancake ring of Ukkyo or the lush bamboo stage of Ranma's father/panda.

The sounds in Ranma are very clear. A multitude of musical modulations and sound effects are strewn throughout the game. The players' voices, however, are nothing like the cartoon characters' voices, which is disappointing.

When going against Pantyhose Taro, stay behind her and jump in the comer. Pantyhose Taro will automatically go into her special move, but you can kick her out of it.

On the default settings, jumping is achieved with a button press, which can be very awkward to control. Reconfigure the buttons in the Options Menu to jump with the directional pad.

Runnin' with Ranma

If you put it all together, Ranma looks great and plays okay, but it lacks challenge and versatility. Fans of the cartoon will enjoy this game, but fans of serious fighting games will be disappointed. If you want to chuckle while you knuckle, though, check out Ranma ½: Hard Battle.

Ranma 1/2 Hard Battle Downloads

Ranma 1/2 is the story of a young man named Ranma who fell into a well where a young girl had died. Now, whenever Ranma gets wet, he changes to his alter ego of a female Ranma. Today, that popular movie series is becoming a fantastic new fighting game! Ranma 1/2 is not a just a simple side-scrolling action game. It is, however, a one-on-one fighting extravaganza! Choose either Ranma (male) or Ranma (female) and battle it out with some of the other characters from the movie!

reggie posted a review

Banpresto of Japan / GameBoy

Just when you thought it was all over, along comes (you guessed it) Ranma 1/2 for the GameBoy! This portable version is a combination of action and adventure all blended into a great 2-meg cartridge. Play as the male or female alter-ego of Ranma as you travel through towns and engage in combat with various characters from the Ranma series. While the fighting may be restricted to just a few moves, this in no way distracts from the overall fun. Ranma 1/2 has nice graphics and catchy music to keep your attention.

reggie posted a review

Purists and fans of the Japanese version will immediately be repelled by the ''Americanized'' voices, but others will find a very good one-on-one fighting game. The fighters are very original, as are their many moves.

reggie posted a review

Ranma 1/2 in the U.S.A.! We finally get the chance to say that! Thanks to the guys at Viz Communications and DTMC, Ranma 1/2 part 2 will see the light of day here! All of the graphics are the same, but the voices have been changed to match the dubbed T.V. episodes coming out on tape (subtitled ones soon after)! So, once again, the consumers' demands have paved the way for this! Can't wait for the letter art!

reggie posted a review

Ranma 1/2 fans take heart!

The adventures of Ranma and the rest of the crew are back in a 12-Meg cart! All the characters even have a new look!

Select from twelve tough warriors and duke it out in familiar Ranma locations, like the fighting wells and Ranma's hometown!

The same moves and techniques are here, but many new assaults have been added! One or two players can play!

reggie posted a review

Manufacturer: Shokaguran of Japan

# of players: 1 or 2

Difficulty: Moderate

Available: April 1994

Theme: Fighting

Because of the success of the first two Super Famicom titles, Ranma will be coming to the shores of Japan for its third appearance on the Super Famicom! Plenty of the best characters have been retained, with the addition of five new ones! Since we've seen the other characters from the last game (and are limited to two pages), we've detailed the newer characters as well as sneaked in many other characters for a few surprises.
Several new features exist in this version, like the choice of four different colors for your character. There is also a great new Battle Mode that lets you choose two characters and battle it out in a Tag Team arena! There are other differences, like the button config made up of two types of punches and kicks (a button each), and also the ability to taunt - which will build your up for a super special attack!

reggie posted a review

Theme: Fighting

Release: April '94

Here it is, the third in the superb series of fighting games starring Rumiko Takashashi's manga and anime characters. Characters like Ranma (both male and female versions), Akane, Ryoga, Ykyo and Genma from earlier games are joined by several new characters like Herb and Hinako Ninomiya. In total, there are 13 fighters available.

New power moves have been added for all the characters, most of them very comical just like the original manga. It's claimed that its variety of moves will be greater than those offered by other top name fighting games. Another added feature is the Tag Mode, where a player can select two fighters and alternate during the battle. This cart has top-notch graphics, tons of digitized speech and excellent game play. This should please Ranma fans everywhere.

reggie posted a review

Ranma 1/2 is very popular among the EGM staff (how can you tell?), and we all freaked when we found out that another game was coming out.

Strangely enough, this game is an RPG, unlike the previous attempts. You control Ranma and a few of his friends, including the lovely Akane and Shampoo. Together, they set off on a grand adventure that will be very enjoyable to all RPG fans.